Tuesday, November 4, 2008

One small person, one giant ballot for mankind!

This morning, Mom and I got up early and went to our local polling place. Once we got checked in, I was handed a RIDICULOUSLY large ballot. Like, one of those giant birthday cards.

Proof:

giant ballot

The sock is 6" long. I would have gotten a better shot of the ballot, but they were watching my pink-haired self pretty closely, and I think they would have yelled at me for standing on a chair. (Some people have no sense of adventure. Really!)

I don't want to be redundant. But, here we go: It's important to vote.

My parents are immigrants in this country. They're both naturalized citizens, and they vote.

I read someone's blog this morning, and I was infuriated because she said that she didn't really believe in the person she voted for, but essentially, he was the lesser of two evils. That is crap. It's the same defeatist garbage that keeps people home on election day, and bitching during the eventual aftermath.

I voted for Obama. Whether or not you agree with my politics, I voted for him because he wants to change things, and I find that refreshing. I voted for him because he's brilliant. I voted for him because when he speaks, he makes me feel proud to be American. (A hyphenated-American, but an American nonetheless.)

I voted for him because I truly believe that if you go into something intending to make a change, then change is inevitable. This is how I've lived my life, and I've done pretty well living with that personal philosophy.

Stand behind your candidate. Tell me why you're voting for the person you're voting for. You have the freedom to disagree with me, and I stand up for your right to disagree. The only thing I demand is that you be proud: the person we elect is going to be our representative to the world.

6 comments:

  1. Glad you believe in your candidate. However, voting for the 'lesser of two evils' isn't a bad way of voting and doesn't keep people home. There are things about both major party candidates that scare me -- doesn't mean I won't vote. It just means that I'm honest enough to get that neither candidate is the perfect answer.
    You don't have to like everything about the candidate to vote them -- believing that will lead people to stay home. The "I don't really like either of them so why bother." Instead focus on central issues that make the decision for you -- no matter what the deciding issue is.
    Change is a sound bite, full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing. Vote for a REAL issue -- not just change.
    (Oh, lest you think I'm a right wing nut job, I voted Obama -- even though he's not my most ideal candidate.)

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  2. Change is a pretty good concept in the context of the past 8 years. It covers war, economy, taxation, foreign policy...

    My ballot was enormous too - FOUR of those big pages, front and back. Oh, San Francisco, how you love your ballot measures.

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  3. I think it is great that you have a candidate you can support whole-heartedly. However, given the partisan nature of the nominating process, many people feel like their actual preferences cannot be represented by a candidate acceptable to either party.

    I believe in proudly voting and supporting candidates I believe in. But I do not think they always go together. I had to hold my nose when making my choice this year.

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  4. I voted for Obama too. Because he's the only politician to make me feel inspired. I would generally identify myself as a republican. But they lost me this year. Obama is just too exciting.

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  5. I totally agree with you. There is seldom going to be a candidate with whom one agrees on every single issue. I got tired of hearing people say that there wasn't much of a choice. Excuse me? There was a HUGE choice! To me that is just a way of copping out on the issues and being negative. It seems that even the most ardent McCain supporters must admit that there is a euphoria now that most likely would not have happened if things had gone their way. I am optimistic about our country now. January can't come soon enough.

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  6. I have never voted with a paper ballot, and the size of that thing made me take pause for several minutes. I just sat there, stared at it, and then eventually my pen made its way to Obama. :)

    I'm really glad that the county pushed for change, now all that's left is the fight for gay rights.

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